Grading Controversy Rocks High School In Englewood

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — Several high-level employees have been suspended after an independent audit revealed 3,000 graduation credit and grade changes made last year at an Englewood high school.

The Dwight Morrow High School principal, his assistant and the director of guidance are among 10 administrators on a 60-day suspension.

“When we went back to the older program and looked at the date we saw grade valuations that were different. We saw changes in calculations and that’s when we started the investigation,” Superintendent Robert Kravitz said.

Kravitz denied allegations of grade fixing.

“I think there was a misunderstanding of grade policies and procedures.

Hundreds of students were threatened with absences if they walked out of class Friday, but that didn’t stop them.

As CBS2’s Jessica Moore reported, students walked out of class and crowded into the hallway outside Kravitz’s office to take part in a sit-in, protesting the transcript discrepancies in the Englewood School District.

“There has been an unprecedented amount of gross negligence and corruption if you want to call it that,” Chris Gliwa said.

Students are afraid their college applications may be in jeopardy.

“It’s a riot, there’s nobody in class. Everyone is standing outside the superintendent’s office waiting for him to come out. It’s a mob,” senior Laura Rodriguez said. “A lot of people have been getting denied from colleges when they should have been accepted due to the transcript changes.”

“It’s not good at all cause I don’t have a guidance counselor to talk to for the next two months,” senior Brianna David said. “The guidance counselor that they’re hiring and the principal I have no idea who they are and I really don’t trust them with my grades and enough to talk to them about my problem.”

“I’m supposed to play soccer at a college starting in the fall and I need help with my transcript and paperwork,” David added. ” I have no idea how to do it.”

David also feels the removal of the administrators could end up backfiring.

“There should be repercussions but at the same time they should be thinking about the students and the entire campus,” David said. “They’re running this like a business, and we’re a student body.”

Some parents are threatening to sue the school district if their children don’t get into college because of the discrepancy.

In a letter to parents, Kravitz said, “Our highest priority is the integrity of our school system and maintaining the public’s trust and confidence that we are doing everything within our power to safeguard and advance the interests of our children.”

The school will be closed next week for winter break but specialized counselors will be on hand from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. to sit down with students and parents.

It’s unclear how much of an impact a new system that the district switched to this summer had on the situation, Moore reported.